Maybe it’s my absurd sense of humor, but when I read this passage, I can’t help but laugh a little. It’s kinda funny to see these guys, who seemed to think they were something special—being sons of the chief priest and all—attempting to invoke the name of Jesus for their own private gain; only to see their little shenanigan totally backfire on them.  They were incredibly presumptuous, weren’t they? They had no business toying with powers they did not understand.  And they certainly had no right invoking the name of Jesus when they themselves had so little knowledge of, or respect for, that name.

Have you ever witnessed people using religion, or the name of the Lord Jesus for their own benefit and gain?  Not wise!  A throttling by a demon taught these guys a hard lesson.  I guess that’s what you call, “experiential learning?” I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not have to be educated by a demon. May we choose instead to walk humbly with our Lord always seeking His will above our own.

~ Phil

Ever heard a child exclaim, “Not Fair!” when they didn’t get exactly what they wanted or when things didn’t go quite their way.  We would all like to think that we’ve grown beyond that kind of childish mentality, right?  Still, I find myself more than a little challenged by this example set by Paul and Silas.  I mean, “who are these people who, finding themselves stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison, were still able to rejoice and give praise to the Lord?  They were certainly not ordinary people, were they? But perhaps we need reminding that the Lord hasn’t called His people to be “ordinary,” has He?  And actually,  He has given us every reason in the world to sing His praises, regardless of our circumstances.  Funny how we tend to so easily forget that and just want to focus on our torments. Maybe it’s become a bit cliché, but the truth remains, “hardships can either be obstacles or opportunities.”  I’m convinced that people living all around us are far less interested in our beautiful expressions of piety when all is going well; and far more interested in how we handle the dark, dangerous, hardships of life.

~ Phil

Satan is an absolute villain… He has been granted limited authority over the earth to attempt to “deceive the whole world” (Revelation  12:9).  He takes the truth of God’s word, lifts it out of context, then twists and distorts it to try to make it say things contrary to God’s will; as when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness by quoting scripture (Matthew 4). He tries to make the beautiful bride of Christ, the Church, look like a bunch of egotistical, biased, hypocritical bigots because we seek to hold to the teachings of God’s word and refuse to call evil, “good!”  He takes God’s beautiful gifts—our capacity for learning, our social connections, the desire for health and wellbeing, our material wealth and possessions, faith, family, food, love, even rainbows—and tries to corrupt and turn them all into something ugly.

So, how do I handle Satan’s onslaught? Do I run and hide? Do I shy away, shrink back, and refuse to take a stand? Do I sit back and allow the adversary to desecrate God’s beautiful gifts right before my very eyes? Or do I stand up with those who dare to “fight the good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12)?  Because no matter how “nice” and “socially acceptable” I may want people to see me as being, still, God’s word condemns “the cowardly” (Revelation 21:8). We may want to ask ourselves, “Am I ashamed of being seen as a member of the beautiful family of God, the church? Am I ashamed of Bible teaching? Am I willing to compromise God’s word for the sake of fitting in, escaping persecution, or having a peaceful life? Am I really afraid of rainbows?”

I’m thinking, it’s time, past time, for all God’s children to, “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

Standing hand-in-hand with you! ~ Phil

I love this passage because it speaks to me of little things, little places, little people, and that which, except for the mighty hand God, might otherwise simply be ignored. God delights in all kinds of little things.  When He brought the Messiah into the world, God did not make it some grand and glorious affair in which all the elite of the land would marvel.  Jesus wasn’t born in a palace, but in a stable. He wasn’t adored by senators, but by shepherds. His family wasn’t rich, powerful, or influential; just a simple working man’s home. Jesus didn’t grow up in the “big city” of Rome—center of global power and commerce—or even in Jerusalem—home of the temple and center of the Jewish faith—but in the obscure village of Nazareth—known for pretty much… nothing!

Jesus delighted in little things.  The Bible says of Him, “A bruised reed He will not break off, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish” – (Matthew 12:20). I don’t think Jesus went around deliberately stepping on bugs.  I remember the Apostle Paul saying, “He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness’…  for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Feeling small, weak, insignificant? Think—“poor little Nazareth, just a mudhole among the villages; what could God EVER do with such a place”… ummmm, make it the home where the Messiah would grow up?

     I’m thinking… there is no “little” tool in God’s “MIGHTY” hand!   ~ Phil

We seem to find what we’re looking for, don’t we? People are just like that. If we’re looking for the “bad” in a given situation, or in a particular person, we tend to find the “bad.”  If we are looking for the “good” that can come out of a given situation, or within a particular person, we usually find the “good.” My grandfather, who was always full of fancy little quips, liked to say, “there is so much GOOD in the WORST of us, and so much BAD is the BEST of us, that it hardly behooves ANY of us to talk about the REST of us!”  hmmmmmm…

It grieves me that a lot of folks aren’t much interested in even looking for Jesus. Or they’re so ill informed that, though they’ve heard of Him, they can’t decide if they believe in Him or not; so they don’t think about it much.  After all,  it’s pretty easy to just “follow the herd,” isn’t it—even if the herd IS charging over a cliff!  Others, for various personal reasons, choose to neglect Him or have found some reason to reject Him, and simply refuse to acknowledge His lordship. Sadly, even within the church, there are those who only acknowledge Him at a surface level.

But what about me and you? What do we see when we look at Jesus, when we think about Him, when we read about Him, or when people talk about Him?  Do we recognize Him both as our Savior and our Lord? And dare we ask, “When others look at US, do they recognize Him as being our Savior and our Lord?”

Praying that Jesus can be seen in us…  ~ Phil